SynthesisBMJ global health2025
Global maternal mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence of postpartum depression in the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- COVID-19 and Global Perinatal Health: Lessons Learned on Maternal-Neonatal Outcomes, Infant Feeding Practices, and Health Care Economics across Income Settings.American journal of perinatology · 2026Article
- Factors Associated with Maternal Mortality from COVID-19 in Pernambuco, Brazil (2020-2021): A Case-Control Study.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Predictors of COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress: Prenatal and Postpartum Experiences in Canada.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Mortality, intensive care unit admission, and ventilatory support in pregnant and nonpregnant women with COVID-19 in Brazil: a paired observational study.Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology · 2025Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
38 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPregnant and recently pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at increased risk of death and serious complications than those without the infection. The extent of variation in mortality rates in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection across regions, and the causes of death are not known. We systematically reviewed all available evidence on the variation in mortality rates in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection across geographical and country income groups, and the reported cause of death.
methodsWe searched major databases (December 2019-January 2023) including Medline, LILACS, BIREME and Embase. We included studies that reported deaths in at least 10 consecutive pregnant or recently pregnant women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and assessed the studies' risk of bias. We calculated the summary estimates of any cause of death as proportions with 95% CIs using a multilevel random-effects logistic regression model. Subgroup analyses were performed by geographical region and country income groups. We used International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-Maternal Mortality to categorise the reported cause of death.
findingsFrom 1 326 315 citations, we included 169 studies (319 172 women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection; 4253 women died). The overall rate of unspecified maternal death was 0.87% (95% CI 0.64% to 1.16%). There were significant differences between geographical regions in rates of maternal mortality, with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa (3.48%; 95% CI 0.66% to 16.42%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (3.16%, 95% CI 1.53% to 6.43%). Rates of maternal mortality varied by country income groups, with the highest rates in low-income countries (4.66%, 95% CI 0.75% to 24.07%). Among women with reported cause of death, 98.6% (2,390/2,423) of deaths were attributable to COVID-19.
interpretationRates of deaths in pregnant and recently pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection vary significantly across regions and by country income groups, with the highest burden in Sub-Saharan Africa and low-income countries. COVID-19 is the main reported cause of death. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020224120.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.